A new report has found that the Children's Court system is resulting in young people entering an endless cycle of offending.
The findings are based on a study of almost 1,000 cases in Children's Courts around the country.
The report found that detention was not used as a measure of last resort.
It recommends the establishment of a panel of trained Children's Court judges to be assigned on a long-term basis to the court.
The study was carried out by Dr Ursula Kilkelly, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law at University College Cork.
